I would like to work for Lingue Senza Frontiere, and would love to hear from anyone who has done this, experiences good or bad. Any and all info appreciated-- how many weeks did you work, how was orientation/organization/travel between camps/locations/other people you worked with/food/housing etc.

I did Lingue Senza Frontiere and absolutely loved it! Christina Niknejad, who directs the program, is amazing. A girl in our group lost her passport after a drunken night of partying, and Christina drove the girl for two hours to the police station to report it, took her out to lunch and totally comforted her all the while.

The program itself I think is great- you stay with host families for two weeks at a time. I had some friends who didn't love their host families, but those that didn't tended to have a negative attitude in the first place. I found it nice to be in a place where I could learn some Italian and be treated like a local, not a tourist. My host families were both very generous and went out of their way to make me comfortable. I was in Camerino my first two weeks (put the bug in their ear that this is where you would like to go and I guarantee you will love it) and then I was in Padova for the next two.

The only things that I experienced that were slightly negative were the food at the training camp in San Remo (but who cares, it's FREE), and the way one of my classes was set up. My class in Padova was located at the bottom of a stairwell, between a bathroom and the doors to the playground- so you can imagine classes coming in and out and disturbing my class. I was so upset the first day that I told the nuns who ran the school and they quickly rectified the situation by moving me upstairs to a classroom that was vacant (only problem it was hotter than outside...no AC in Italy in summertime). You definitely have to be a self-starter and able to discipline your class from the get-go or you won't have control of them the rest of the time.

Anyway, these things ended up being minor...overall, I had a fantastic experience and made many friends from around the world whom I still communicate with. You get paid on time in euro, cash, tax-free...and you can do as many camps as you want. I'd say, go for it!